Le Bar du Vent

Merry-Go-Round - Customer Service

2011-11-25T10:42:00.004+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

Customer Service

Customer service is about law, of course, but, to me, it is also about the choice you make when selling handmade, about what someone buying handmade from the the maker has a right to expect.

If you enjoy it that people appreciate your handmade work, you have to keep up the personal side of the relationship. It's not a question of what the law says. It's a question of what you get into whan you decide you are an independent artist / designer / crafter...

The most enjoyable, satisfactory sales I have made online were custom-made. It feels so great having someone trust you with their special wish. It makes me feel "important" in a way no serious job does.

To be quite blunt, in my experience, custom is absolutely not profitable (because profit lies in series). But it still is what I have enjoyed most as a crafter.

The other important aspect of cutomer services is returns.

That is never pleasant, but it is crucial to trust-building.

I am lucky that I have only had a couple in the past few years, and, if I remember well, only one was about an online sale, surprisingly enough. But what strikes me is how incredibly grateful customers for whom I have mended a piece have been. In most cases there was a flaw and of course I was bound by law to mend their purchases (or give a refund, never their choice in my experience), but that didn't seem to be how they took it. They seemed surprised and pleased.

I have also been very lucky so far, I know from the forums on various sites, that I have never had to deal with someone patently dishonest.

Obviously, they are around, as are the dishonest sellers, but I still believe they are a small minority and the vast majority are lovely people who do us the great honour of appreciating our efforts and giving us good money for them, and so they deserve our best efforts throughout.

Breaking Dawn Giveaway at Bacon Time— don't miss out!

2011-11-17T06:44:00.004+01:00

Mindie of Bacon Time is organizing this great giveaway with 66 different shops participating, including my Etsy shop, of course : )

Here!

Nouvelles / News

2011-11-15T11:29:00.004+01:00

Pour commencer, sachez que les boutiques DaWanda et Etsy fermeront le 15 décembre, jusqu'à une date qui demeure à déterminer et qui sera fonction de mon changement d'approche et de statut.

Depuis quelque temps, il est clair que le statut d'entreprise ne me convient absolument pas, ni financièrement, ni moralement. Je vais donc prendre le temps nécessaire pour revoir ma situation et adopter le statut légal qui convient.

En attendant, les coordonnées présentes sur mes cartes de visites restent valides et je reste disponible pour le service après-vente nécessaire..

Par ailleurs, Le Bar du Vent sera présent au Marché de Noël organisé par Chai, rue du Mirail à Bordeaux, à partir du 17 décembre. : )

In order to think over and operate a change of legal status, aiming at adopting one better fitted to how I like to craft and how much time I can afford to allow for it, I will close my Etsy and DaWanda shops on December 15, until further notice...

Merry-Go-Round - Fairs and Shows

2011-10-26T13:10:00.003+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

Fairs and shows— do you do them? If you don't, why not?

Well, this is a topic that I find very interesting, because I haven't been able to take part in any so far— due to having a rather engrossing and time-consuming full-time "day-job".

All I know, so far, is that everyone says it's the best way to reach your custom, because most people aren't into virtual reality when it comes to shopping for jewellery and other trinkets. But it involves a lot of work and organizing, as well as time...

Very curious to read what other merry goers have to say about their experience!

Merry-Go-Round - Tutorial

2011-09-30T22:33:00.015+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

A simple tutorial

A few photos to show you how, with just a piece of wire and a piece of salvaged thread or fabric, you can create a colourful butterfly or dragonfly, using the technique of macrame knotting.

Here are a few pieces of salvaged ribbon or thread among which I take my pick.
And here is the kind of brass wire (controlled closely as you can see) you can find in any hardware store. I also use copper. Silver or aluminium would do just as well.
I cut a pice (22 cm / 8.5 in. in this case).
I bend it like this:
then I make a plain knot at what will be the tail end of my butterfly and start the macrame as you can see. One way:
the other way:
until I have enough to create the abdomen.

Then I loosen one of the knots to create the small pair of wings:
Then I knot one more tight knot:
And then another loose knot, for the larger pair of wings, followed by a couple of tight knots for the head:
A little whirl at both ends of the wire, for the antennae:

Pretty psychedelic, isn't it? I think it would do a nice brooch...

With a longer piece of blue cord and copper wire, I created this necklace with what looks more like a dragonfly:

There are as many variations as the kinds of thread or ribbon you can use...

2011-09-19T18:01:00.000+02:00

Meet Miss G.

2011-08-29T17:26:00.001+02:00

She doesn't have a name yet but it is supposed to begin with a G...

L'Ecole du Chat de Bordeaux

2011-08-26T15:28:00.005+02:00

C'est gâce à cette association que j'ai pu adopter Mimi il y a presque six ans.

Si seulement j'avais une voiture (et un jardin !) je lui aurais volontiers adopté une petite compagnie...

Merci de faire parler de cette association :

Vous pouvez aider en diffusant cette affiche, en adoptant, en faisant un don, en donnant de votre temps... ou même en vous achetant un porte-clef ou des cartes postales !

Merci d'avance !

Merry-Go-Round - Since you started blogging has your blogging changed?

2011-08-26T13:34:00.007+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

Since you started blogging has your style/content/feeling about blogging changed?

Well, I'm really not sure.

My blogging has remained generally scant and irregular.

There is that vicious circle: I blog little because I never get feedback except from the merry-goers and there is no feedback because, I guess, I don't blog often enough for people to want to check my blog...

I liked the idea of writing, but making my blog bilingual proved to be too time-consuming. So I blog mainly in English now because it makes more sense with what the blog is about. But that means most of my French friends can't read it...

Other than this, the main changes I can think of are, first, that I tend to write less and rely on photos more, but mostly that I post on my Facebok page more often....

Add to that the facts that my blog posts don't go up automatically on my Facebook page anymore, for a reason that remains totally mysterious to me and that my recent computer problem (most recent one only half useable— reliable one really, really slow...) make it even more difficult and slower to do anything at all.

It still might be that my iPhone is going to change my blogging radically when I've finally gotten the knack of Mail2blogger.... So watch this space!

1,2,3 : test

2011-08-25T22:49:00.001+02:00

I've been trying to find an iPhone app to blog here.I finally found one that actually allows me to log in, but it doesn't do photos...I'd be grateful for a tip about an app that works on both iPhone 4 and blogspot...En quête d'une app pour bloguer ici (sur blogspot, donc) depuis mon iPhone, j'en ai enfin trouvé une qui me permet de me connecter sur mon compte, mais elle ne prends pas les photos en charge...Tout tuyau serait bienvenu...

History on the go

2011-08-25T13:46:00.008+02:00

Last April, strolling along a street in Paris, I found myself reading this plaque:

"En ce bâtiment,

jadis Hôtel d'York,

le 3 septembre 1783,

David HARTLEY,

au nom du Roi d'Angleterre,

Benjamin FRANKLIN,

John JAY, John ADAMS,

au nom des Etats Unis d'Amérique,

ont signé le Traité Définitif de Paix

reconnaissant l'indépendance

des Etats-Unis"

(In this building,

which used to be the Hôtel d'York,

on September 3rd, 1783,

David HARTLEY,

on behalf of the King of England,

Benjamin FRANKLIN,

John JAY & John ADAMS,

on behalf of the United States of America,

signed the Final Peace Treaty

which sanctioned the independence

of the United-States)

I had never heard of this place and didn't remember ever learning that date... One of the things I still love about Paris (together with all my friends there ^.^) is that can still still be surprised by history just around the corner.

Thanks to my lovely iPhone, I was able to take couple of photos and edit one into this shining example of a monument to democracy in the making.

Right now, the edited version is for sale on a sturdy tote bag in both my shops, but I can also provide a quality print of it on a variety of materials (glossy, mat, canvas) and in various sizes up to A4, in this "highlighted" version or in the original version. Either would look great on any wall— a bit of a Paris wall on your own wall...

New on French DaWanda: "les groupes"

2011-08-23T20:37:00.009+02:00

So I've been playing with this and gone and started two teams, oops, sorry, "groupes":

The Auld Alliance, to bring together Scottish and French people with a similar taste for the genuine handmade and vintage:

This is meant to use the new "group" function of the French site to allow Scottish and French DaWandians to get together, NOT to keep other British members out, of course...

The group is fully open to all members with a connection to France and Scotland; so that it could be the perfect place to leave "Wanted" ads with a regional / national focus—, for example.

Bord'eau, for all DaWandians who live in / love Aquitaine as well as genuine handmade, OOAK, unique, small series artefacts as well as genuine that is not merely second-/ or third-hand stuff:

For all DaWandians in Bordeaux, Gironde or Aquitaine who wish to come together to create and exchange.

This is a place to make, find, invent, dream, chat, share and recycle— just not other people's ideas, of course.

The group, though "closed", is fully open to all site-members with a connection to Aquitaine, not just sellers; so that it could be the ideal place for you to express your wishes and see them fulfilled by local designers / artists / crafters.

Nouveau : les GROUPES sur DAWANDA

2011-08-23T20:10:00.006+02:00

Une nouvelle fonctionalité sociale sur le site européen du fait-main...

J'en ai profité pour en créer deux :

Bord'eau, pour rassembler l'Aquitaine autour de boutiques authentiquement artisanales, créatives et vintage :

Pour ceux et celles qui, à Bordeaux, en Gironde ou en Aquitaine, souhaitent se rassembler dans un esprit de créativité et d'échange.

Ici on fabrique soi-même, on chine, on invente, on rêve, on cause, on partage et on recycle (mais pas les idées des autres, bien sûr !).

Le groupe, quoique "fermé", est bien sûr ouvert à tous les DaWandiens qui ont un lien avec l'Aquitaine : pour celles et ceux qui ne sont (pour l'instant) qu'acheteurs, ce pourrait être un lieu idéal pour contacter des créateurs / designers / artisans de leur région et leur faire les demandes les plus folles...

The Auld Alliance, pour célébrer et entretenir dans le vintage, les arts et l'artisanat ce lien si ancien qui lie France et Ecosse :

J'espère avec ce groupe donner la possibilité aux membres écossais et français de se retrouver grâce à la nouvelle fonctionnalité de la plateforme française : PAS d'exclure les autres membres britanniques !

Le groupe est bien sûr ouvert à tous les DaWandiens qui ont un lien avec l'Ecosse et la France : pour celles et ceux qui ne sont (pour l'instant) qu'acheteurs, ce pourrait être un lieu idéal pour contacter des créateurs / designers / artisans de l'autre pays et leur faire les demandes les plus folles...

Belated Merry-Go-Round: On Holidays from your Art?

2011-07-31T18:43:00.007+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

Do you take a holiday from art / craft?

Oh Wow!
More like on holidays from my brain it seems... This was due last Friday. I did remember, and mull it over— until I completely forgot to write my post up!

My answer would be: No.

Obviously, my routine is gone down the drain and I tend to forget what day of the week or month this is when I don't have to "go to work", and t
he summer holidays in particular are a time of renewal and exploration, but I never really completely stop making and planning, just as I never stop reading all sorts of stuff, all year round.

Last week-end, I took a workshop on digital photography and ghow to make the best of my camera. The man who gave it was this very unpleasant, supercilious kind of "pro" (there— I had to say it— he really was a prat) and his "workshop" was shockingly poor value for money, but it did make me explore the possibilities of my camera for 4 hours and discover a couple of useful things, both for artistic purposes (considering transforming and maybe even selling my photos more within the next year) and utilitarian ones (as in taking better photos of my jewellery).

I've also started knitting arm-warmers from some lovely yarn I just bought. A good opportunity to hae a go at a pattern I hoarded ages ago— and to realize how very bad I am at knitting with double-pointed needles... not sure you'll be seing photos of that any time soon...

I also made the two necklaces in my Wednesday posts (and they're now on sale in my DaWanda shop, where they are getting precious little attention— the weather must have been nice somewhere...).

The fact other people are on holidays and not shopping on the net so much means that I spend more time preparing for my next move than actually making or even doing anything much. But then, and we've discussed this already in former Merry post, I've always worked like that— mulling for a while and working in a spree, and then mulling for a while, and so on and so forth
.

New - Nouveau ! Bis...

2011-07-27T12:50:00.004+02:00

A variation on "Mordue" : the "Sookie" Necklace, for the girl with faery blood... Sterling silver and garnets, but the silver is oxyded and therefore dark— except for the tiny but bright magic wand at the back.

Une variation sur le collier "Mordue" : le collier "Sookie". Toute en argent et grenats, lui aussi, mais l'argent est oxydé et donc presque noir (avec des reflets rouges sur la chaine...), mis à part la minuscule mais étincelante baguette magique qui vous fait un superbe décolleté dans le dos.

New - Nouveau !

2011-07-27T12:42:00.005+02:00

"Mordue" Necklace, which, literally, means "bitten", but also, figuratively, "hooked" or "smitten"... Sterling Silver and garnet (one round bead and one heart / drop-shaped, both facetted).

Collier "Mordue". Pas besoin d'expliquer, si ? Tout en argent 925 et grenat (une pierre ronde et une en forme de goutte / coeur).

Merry-Go-Round - Visual Inspiration 2 - Sand in my shoes...

2011-06-24T11:53:00.007+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

Create something inspired by the photo published by another merry-goer.

A lucky accident has me working on Samantha's unorthodox post last month— holiday photos.
Sand, beach fun, more sand.
I cannot imagine anything more fitting for me, generally, and this year in particular, when I particularly long to enjoy the beaches of the Atlantic and a bit of farniente this summer.

So, here goes!

I'm calling it Remembrances of Beaches Past.

;)

I am the eye in the sky...

2011-06-05T15:10:00.003+02:00

Merry-Go-Round - Visual Inspiration

2011-05-27T12:19:00.005+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

A photo that inspires you.

This photo inspires me in that it is the positive I get out of a not so pleasant time.

As you can see, it tells of movement, speed, travel.

It was taken from a train, on one of the several trips I've had to take over the past four weeks. Because of a mix of professional and personal obligations, this has been a very busy month, both at home and elsewhere. And not in a creative way, I'm afraid.
Actually, I'm on my way again this afternoon, and then again on Tuesday (flying off to Edinburgh for a few days) for the only one among those trips that I have looked forward to a little bit, if only because I chose to go, as opposed to being made to... There'll be one more train trip, And then I really look forward to a quiet, creative summer, mostly at home...

The reason why I like this photo, is that I can sit back and look at the movement and all that green. A bit like when I'm on the train. I find it soothing. I enjoy being in transit. It's all the bother before and after that I mind...

I'll try to take a photo from the plane too!

PS: I also have True Blood, 3 rd season, and Mad Men, 4th season, to go home to! Just so you know how much I long for some quiet here...

* RAIATEA RELIEF SPECIAL *

2011-05-20T11:52:00.001+02:00

There was a massive landslide in the south of the small French Polynesia island where I took my first steps and hope to take a few steps again someday.

Several families lost their houses and everything in it and some will not be compensated by their insurance companies (yes, I kow!).

Out of all combined purchase totalling 15 euros in my shop, 5 euros will be given to Secours O Sinistrés Raiatea (www.sos-raiatea.com)

(30 euros —> 10 euros given etc.)

* RAIATEA RELIEF SPECIAL *

2011-05-20T11:47:00.002+02:00

Il y a eu un glissement de terrain catastrophique au sud de cette petite île polynésienne où j'ai fait mes premiers pas et où je ne désespère pas d'en refaire quelques-uns un jour, et plusieurs familles ont tout perdu en perdant leur maison.

Le droit des assurances, différent en Polynésie de ce qu'il est en Métropole a permis à certaines compagnies d'assurances de classer les demandes d'indemnisation sans suite. Tout simplement...

Tout achat de 15 euros dans mes boutiques me permettra de rajouter 5 euros à mon dons personnel à l'association locale Secours O Sinistrés Raiatea (www.sos-raiatea.com : n'hésitez pas à faire votre don directement à l'association si rien ne vous tente !).

(30 euros —> 10 euros donnés etc.).

Merry-Go-Round - Time— to manage or not to manage

2011-04-29T12:51:00.003+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

Time management— how do you juggle your time— how do you wish you could juggle your time?

"Juggle" is about right...

At the moment, for instance, I'm having to deal with an overload of work in my day job and that has to take priority. Whenever that happens, I don't have any time for creation and I just deal with orders, if any...
Sometimes, after a long day of working for my day-job, I will have an outburst of creativity and suddenly put together one or several items in one evening. But I prefer to be able to take a whole day when I work on something, often working on several things in parallel, exploring techniques and allowing projects to "mull" some...

Over the past few years, I have dedicated all or nearly all my leisure time to Le Bar du Vent, researching or actually designing / crafting. That is how I juggle my time and my double life— one day at a time.

Secret Paris

2011-04-21T11:19:00.002+02:00

View from the room I was staying in. View AND perfume...

New / Nouveautés

2011-04-09T12:21:00.005+02:00

Need feedback! Positive, constructive feedback.

Besoin de retours, avis... et autres encouragements.

Moss terrarium necklaces— I'm only getting started— I just love the colours.

Not posting them abroad, so far— I'm not sure it would be legal. I suppose I might consider Europe, though.

Colliers terrarium de mousse ; ce n'est qu'un début. J'aime ces couleurs !

Je ne les envoie qu'en France, pour l'instant : je crains que ce ne soit pas légal de les envoyer à l'étranger. Mais peut-être que l'Europe serait autorisée...

And now for something completely different, though with lovely colour too—

Rien à voir, mais là aussi j'aime la couleur.

An original, indispensable little something that will add flare to your table, whatever the occasion. Solid copper.

Une accessoire original et indispensable, en cuivre, pour ajouter ce petit je-ne-sais-quoi à votre table, quelle que soit l'occasion.

FOW 10

2011-03-27T15:41:00.004+02:00

So little time, so much to do. I stumbled onto these sweet chrysoprase cabs recently. I did try to resist, but I really couldn't... They're two tortoises (rather than turtles, I think), and a lovely dolphin, and, one day, they will stand proudly on handmade rings.
Beaucoup à faire et trop peu de temps pour le faire... Adorables cabochons gravés de chrysoprase, pas pu résister. Comme d'hab.

Deux tortues et un joli petit dauphin qui feront de ravissntes bagues. Un jour.

Merry-Go-Round - Inspiring artist

2011-03-25T10:06:00.006+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

An artist that inspires you.

I'm really not sure what to answer to that. I cannot name one or even several artists whose work I feel is an influence on what I make.

Of course there are a few visual artists I am particularly fond of.
Painters Turner and Magritte, as well as photographer André Kertész come to mind immediately. For some reason(s) that I'm not sure I would want to explore, even if I felt I could.

I simply enjoy looking at their work and letting my mind ramble.

But I wouldn't say they are an influence. It's more like what makes me like them is also what makes me come up with the ideas and objects I come up with.

One work of art that has played a special role in my life is this landscape by Van Gogh. It's entitled Yellow Wheat and Cypresses.
I am not the happy owner of this painting— it's in a museum somewhere, possibly in the National Gallery but I'm not sure.
I have just owned three reproductions of it. Two of them face each other across my living-room at the moment— a large framed print and a larger unframed copy that my brother had made especially for me in China (unsigned, as I asked— it's a copy not a fake). One of the (many) things that make people find my flat "interesting" to plain old "weird".

I first "saw" this painting when I came across a very large print of it, as I was browsing through prints, looking for something to make the white walls of my Cambridge room less white. It was love at first sight. The print was really huge and much too expensive but I just had to have it.
For two years, it was the "detail" that, to my eyes at least, made my bedsitter harmonious as opposed to its original drab state.
After that, it was my visual haven in three more flats, until the paper (I never framed it) couldn't take any more. I was starting a new life, in a different city— I shed that skin.
But after a few years I remembered it and realized I'd missed it. So I hunted down a quality print on the net. Not as large as the "original", but good enough. I felt much better once I'd gotten, framed and hung up the successor. And then two years ago I had the opportunity to have a copy made— for texture— A really large one.

I must have spent hours gazing at this landscape, getting lost in its perfection.
I am no Van Gogh fan. I don't even like his painting most of the time. But this particular painting is me. Somehow.
There's quite a bit of yellow in this, and ususally, yellow is my least favourite colour. But I just love the yellow strokes in this. Just as much as the gorgeous green ones and the delightful blue ones.
The mix of violence and placidity I see in this picture is mysteriously soothing for me, to this day.
The chaotic harmony of it— I really cannot get enough of it.
I guess it epitomizes the mystery of art. As opposed to design. So, a very, very distant influence and source of inspiration...

Spécial Catastrophe au Japon / Japan Relief Special:

2011-03-21T17:02:00.006+01:00

Spécial Catastrophe au Japon / Japan Relief Special:

Sur tout panier de 15 euros dans une de mes boutiques*, 5 euros iront à / Out of all combined purchase of 15 euros in any one of my shops*, 5 euros will go to
www.fondationdefrance.org

(30 euros —> 10 euros, etc.)

Sur les articles Spécial Japon (boutique DaWanda) 50% du prix hors frais de port/ Out of Japan Relief items (in DaWanda shop) 50 % of price excluding shipping costs.

Jusqu'au 30 avril / Till April 30th.

*ALM, DaWanda, Etsy

FOW 9

2011-03-20T13:15:00.005+01:00

I know these are already around quite a bit and not in a terribly imaginative way, but I have at least two different ideas as to how to give my own twist to these... So once more: watch this space! ;-)

Je me rends bien compte que l'on voit déjà beaucoup de ces petites choses, et pas souvent utilisées de façon très imaginative, mais quiconque est entré dans mon appartement ne sera pas surpris que j'ai été incapable d'y résister. En plus, j'ai deux idées pour donner ma touche personnelle aux bijoux que l'on peut faire avec elles.

Pour la énième fois : à suivre ! ;-)

FOW 8

2011-03-13T13:56:00.008+01:00

La trouvaille de la semaine est une bague chinée chez un brocanteur, dans une de ces boites où ils laissent tous les petits trucs sans valeur... Sauf qu'elle en jette, non ?
Ce n'est pas de l'argent et la "pierre" en verre (ou peut-être en cristal) a beaucoup vécu. Elle est devenue assymétrique : on voit bien qu'un petit cylindre a disparu sur un des deux côtés. Mais pour du métal sans valeur, on voit aussi que la facture est de bonne qualité, donc ancienne...
J'hésite encore à la garder telle quelle (ce que j'ai fait jusqu'ici) ou à la modifier...
Encore une histoire à suivre.

This week's find is an old ring that I unearthed on a flea maket stand, in one of those boxes where they put worthless bits and bobs. I love those... And this ring is quite striking, isn't it?
It's base metal and the stone is bruised and battered glass (or possibly crystal); you can see a small cylinder came out on one side— it used to be symmetrical. I think relatively antique, given he quality of the work on what is only costume jewellery.
Still not sure whether I'll keep it as is (as I have so far) or alter and enhance it.
So— another piece that hasn't quite found its place. Yet.

FOW 7

2011-03-06T14:57:00.007+01:00

This is about a find that I had been looking for.

Some time ago, my moher gave me this striking, Scandinavian locket ring. I'd always loved it, since childhood; just the idea of a locket ring is a thrill, you know, and the design is beautifully simple.

Only, when my mother kindly gave it to me, I realized the ring looked a bit boring on my hand.

So I started wondering how I could alter it without spoiling the original design. My first idea was soldering a scroll on the top; maybe a golden scroll.

Then I came across rutilated cabs, and it felt right— the subtle golden threads in it, the organic, chance mix of bright and rough.

But it had to be the right shape...

And then there it was, this marquise piece of loveliness.

So here is one of my ambitions for this year— that, by the end of 2011, I have taught myself to bezel-set well enough that I can finally alter this ring without damaging either the ring or the cab.

Fingers crossed!

Cette semaine, il s'agit d'une trouvaille que je cherchais avidement...

Il y a quelque temps, ma mère m'a fait cadeau de cette extraordinaire bague scandinave. Elle m'avait toujours énormément plu, depuis que j'étais toute petite. Le côté mystérieux de la bague à poison, vous savez, avec en plus une ligne originale.

Malheureusement, lorsqu'elle m'a été offerte, je me suis rendu compte qu'elle avait l'air assez fade sur ma main.

Je commençai donc à me demander comment je pourrais bien modifier cette bague sans altérer sa beauté. Ma première idée était de souder une volute sur le dessus, peut-être une volute en or.

Puis je découvris l'existence de ces cabochons "rutilés" : la subtilité des fils d'or, l'aspect à la fois brut et brillant, dû au hasard, organique.

Mais il fallait trouver la bonne forme...

Et quand j'ai trouvé ce cabochon taille marquise ça a fait "clic".

Voici donc l'une de mes ambitions pour cette année : avoir appris à sertir suffisamment bien pour pouvoir modifier ce bijou sans endommager ni la bague ni le cabochon.

Croisons les doigts !

Facebook coupon

2011-03-03T22:09:00.003+01:00

Like Le Bar du Vent on Facebook and find out about the Etsy coupon of the moment...

Aimez Le Bar du Vent sur Facebook et profitez d'un coupon dans la boutique Etsy...

FOW 6

2011-02-27T18:21:00.000+01:00

Came back from my mother's house with a few treasures from my childhood. I collected these tiny jars decades ago— long before they became so fashionable in jewellery.

I'm turning a couple into tiny terrariums (I suppose that I should call then terraria, but...).

Je viens de retrouver dans les cartons où sont conservés quelques trésors de mon enfance ces petites fioles que j'avais collectées il y a plusieurs décennies, longtemps avant qu'elles ne deviennent si populaires comme pendentifs.

Je vais transformer quelques unes d'entre elles en mini-terrariums (je suppose que je devrais écrire terraria...).

Merry-Go-Round - Top 3, Top 5, Top 10 favourite tools

2011-02-25T18:41:00.028+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left) and welcome our new members, Bethany, Jen, Laura and Monika!

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

Top 5 (or 10) Favourite tools for our craft(s)

Always, but always, really, close at hand (couldn't live without them):
a miniature Swiss army knife (at least one! I have three...), in my pocket. They all have tiny but sturdy scissors that I use all the time*
measuring tape
& overworked pin cushion, both on a side table

Always close at hand too, once I'm at it (couldn't craft without them):
round pliers
crimping pliers (they can come in handy for so much wire work)

Never very far either (they make my life so much easier :)
paper & pen / pencil (these do tend to be lying about at all times, but they shouldn't...)
normal size Swiss army knife with miniature screwdriver (in my handbag, along with measuring tape bis)*
nylon jaw pliers
flat pliers (these two kinds more recently acquired than the other two pairs of pliers above but very addictive too, in that they can correct mistakes or even prevent them)
bench blocks and hammers, lots of hammers...

* slightly problematic whenever I have to travel by plane...

New items in Etsy shop

2011-02-22T23:55:00.005+01:00

... These are just a few, more here.

FOW 5

2011-02-20T17:35:00.009+01:00

I know, I know— I should be making the bags myself... But these people know how to make strong, durable, environment-friendly reusable bags that I can then embellish so that the ONE you buy will be yours, uniquely.

I stocked up on these in different colours and materials a few months ago and I'm finally getting to the point where I might actually know what I'm going to make of them.

So, as usual: watch this space and my shops...

Je sais bien que je devrais les faire moi-même, mais ces gens-là savent faire des sacs réutilisables solide et donc durables an matériaux naturels. Ce qui me laisse tout loisir pour les décorer et en faire des pièces uniques pour vous.

Je me suis procuré une petite quantité de ces cabas, dans plusieurs teintes et matériaux, et ça commence à me démanger de m'attaquer à ce projet-là.

Comme un petit air de printemps.

Comme d'habitude, donc : à suivre...

Votez pour moi — Vote for me!

2011-02-15T13:25:00.006+01:00

Dans le cadre du concours "Ma Région" organisé par DaWanda, j'ai fabriqué cette fantaisie aquitaine qui évoque les fameuse plages océanes. Vous pouvez voter pour moi ici, en cliquant sur "J'adore". Merci d'avance...

Please help me try and win the French DaWanda "Ma Région" competition for which I put together this necklace, in homage to the beaches of Aquitaine. You can vote for me by hearting it here. Thank you all in advance.

FOW 4

2011-02-13T19:44:00.007+01:00

Time machine in the guise of fabric— this NOS fabric takes you right back to the Fifties, doesn't it?

Le tissu à voyager dans le temps : on se croirait en plein dans les années cinquante, non ? Des mètres d'authentique vintage...

FOW 3

2011-02-06T17:18:00.007+01:00

I stumbled on this fabric yesterday and just couldn't resist it. The colour! No idea what it might turn into yet; it's jute fibre, so fairly rough. I can see it in contrast with back leather or something... I wouldn't mind suggestions.

Ma trouvaille d'hier : pas pu résister. Aucune idée de ce que cela deviendra : c'est du jute, donc les possibilités sont limitées. Mais en contraste avec du noir, du cuir noir, ça en jetterait, non ? Des suggestions ?

FOW Two

2011-01-30T13:22:00.005+01:00

My Finding Of this Week is one that I came across a few months ago and bought without knowing how I was going to use it— I just had to have it, because it was "paper thread".
Paper and thread! The best of both my favourite worlds!

And here I am, now, using it to bring together my contribution to the current DaWanda challenge, "Ma Région" for which we have to create an object representing our region. You can see a few loose ends waiting to be tied... Suspense!
Cette semaine, ma trouvaille remonte à quelques mois. A l'époque, je ne savais pas du tout ce que j'allais pouvoir en faire, juste qu'il me fallait ces bobines : du fil de papier. Du fil et du papier : le rêve !

Aujourd'hui, je suis en train de m'en servir pour ce qui sera ma participation au dernier concours créatif de DaWanda en date, pour lequel je cherche à créer un objet qui évoque "Ma Région".

Merry-Go-Round - Compass Words for 2011

2011-01-27T23:21:00.005+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month,

We decided to do Tonya davidson' 3Rs exercices, to "REnew, REenergize & REcommit" (www.theartistsuccessprogram.com), order to find our three "compass words" for 2011.

More than just interested in changing for the better, but finding it a bit difficult to stay committed— that's me!

Still, the minute I started "exercising" my sens of purpose, the compass words I need and want to focus on came cropping up bold and bright like spring
flowers:

Smile

After dark emotional months when I just wanted to curl up and focus on myself, I've suddenly remembered how smiles beget smiles even more surely than violence and selfishness beget violence and selfishness. It always amazes me, and in a very pleasant way, how many difficulties a smile literally smoothes down.
So I will commit to smiling rather more often than I feel like...

Forge

This one's more tricky.
As I've mentioned before on this blog I have a dangerous tendency to want to explore different crafts and
techniques. Lately, I have spent an awful lot of time researching sources and potential inspiration as well as hoarding supplies.
Not only is this absurdly costly, it is also sterile and frustrating. Whereas the pleasure of crafting lied in using my hands to make things I liked, it has become something I do as quickly as possible before I go back to day-dreaming about all the wonderful stuff I could create.
Procrastination's my middle name!
So I am commiting to getting my projects done!

Enjoy

Having someone else lavish you with "positive thinking" when you are in any kind of anguish, trouble or pain and what you want is compassion (even if it's just over an untimely broken finger-nail!) I find very irritating.
But waking up thinking of all the small joys and comforts I can look forward to, every day— because I am really lucky in sooo many ways— and going to sleep feeling grateful for all the pleasures of the day, hoping for another such day, now that's being in a good place. It should be mine by rights...
Carpe Diem, I say! ;)

So, from now on
, "Smile, Forge and Enjoy" must define this year for me.

FOW One!

2011-01-23T18:06:00.006+01:00

Find(ing) Of the Week is my new plan to overtake the world of crafty crafting and blogging.

January is a time for change, renewal, bright new clever (?) ideas and this is mine for this year: since my aquisition addiction tends to show mostly in the way I keep grabbing and hoarding findings and notions and whanots (many of those), I've decided to share (show off?) every week some of the unsung treasures that, for some and any reason, inspire me. New find or old, it will vary...

This week, meet the three cuties who inspired me with the whole FOW project.

Not quite, quite sure where exactly, yet, but you can see that these darling creatures are going somewhere!

A ring would be fairly obvious and yet charming, but I also have plans for some fascinator-like hairpin...

So watch this space!

Toutes les semaines, j'ai décidé de monter ici une de ces petites trouvailles que je ne peux pas m'empêcher d'accumuler pour toutes sortes de raisons, mais toujours parce qu'elles m'inspirent... Certaines se retrouvent rapidement sur un bijou ou un accessoire ou... Les autres attendent patiemment que mes idées prennent forme.

Cette semaine, il s'agit d'une trouvaille récente, dont j'aime le pas décidé. Je sens qu'une ou deux pourraient bien se retrouver en train de voyager sur une bague, mais je crois que j'en garderai une pour diriger une barrette / bibi.

A suivre...

Ça bouge à la Fabrique !

2011-01-14T13:13:00.005+01:00

Au 87 bis rue du Loup, à Bordeaux, il se passe des tas de choses et on trouve des trésors de créativité (dont la mienne, c'est vous dire...).

Très bientôt, une exposition-vente de vêtements miniatures de grande classe. C'est l'hiver et, pour régresser agréablement, il n'y a pas que les bonbons et le chocolat, il y a aussi votre pourpée Barbie : elle au moins, elle ne vous fera pas grossir. Et cette garde-robe ne rendra pas votre porte-monnaie rachitique !!!

Et puis aussi (sur rendez-vous), le samedi 22:

Bonne Année / Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T22:43:00.002+01:00

Qu'elle soit aussi parfaite que cette fleur. On y croit....

Let it be this perfect. Fingers crossed.

Merry-Go-Round - Collaborative swapping project

2010-12-31T22:28:00.003+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month,

we all swapped supplies to play with and see what we could create out of our comfort zone....

Sorry I'm so late...

I'll expand later, but here are the photos, starting with an old beret in need of some patching up and the gorgeous wool sent to me by Sara, of Sara's Texture Crafts.

And then there is also this rather spectacular but unfortunately floppy red capeline I intended to alter but didn't have time to...

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T17:26:00.005+01:00

Enjoy the treats!

^_^

2010-12-24T00:04:00.002+01:00

Pas magique!

2010-12-16T17:16:00.003+01:00

Je viens de recevoir un message me prévenant que le Comité interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (depuis 1941) est susceptible de m'attaquer en justice si j'utilise le mot "champagne" dans mes descriptions de bijoux. Grande amatrice (?) de vin de Champagne, je me servais effectivement du mot "Champagne" comme symbole de la vie luxueuse que je vivrais bien volontiers , en buvant plus souvent du Champagne, par exemple, et en portant ce bijou qui comporte un breloque manifestement en forme de coupe à Champagne.

Et ben non !

Je suis forcément une voleuse de droit et d'idées et quelqu'un de bien malhonnête pour voir une différence entre ma description qui utilise les termes appropriés et quelqu'un qui concocte un vin blanc à bulle en RPC et le vend comme du "Shampagne", du "Cahmpagne" ou même carrément du "Champagne".

Je n'existe pas depuis 1941, il est vrai, et pourtant, j'ai toujours bu mes bulles dans des coupes à Champagne (ou des flûtes à Champagne, d'ailleurs), sans guillemets, mais je devrais peut-être me mettre à utiliser des "coupes à méthode champenoise". Et encore. Est-ce bien légal ?...

Le Champagne, j'ai le droit (?) d'en boire, j'ai le droit de le payer (!), mais je n'ai pas le droit d'utiliser le nom de ce liquide pourtant bien spécial et irremplaçable dans mon esprit à moi aussi, pour décrire un objet qui n'a de sens qu'en association avec cette boisson-gazeuse-qui-ne- se-fabrique-en vrai-que-sur-un-seul-terroir-et-seulement-dans-ce-beau-pays-qu'est-la-France.

Ou alors, il va falloir que je revois effectivement mon standing à la hausse et que je m'organise pour nourrir des avocats.

Je ne veux pas sortir les violons et parler de liberté artistique, ni discuter le point en droit. Il ne s'agit que de cette toute petite chose : le sens commun.

Aujourd'hui, je me sens vraiment très particulièrement fière de vivre dans un pays où des milliers de gens crèvent de froid et de faim, où des petits, des sans grade (pas une citation exacte et puis lui, de toute façon il est trop mort pour m'attaquer) se font bouffer la laine sur le dos tous les jours par des parasites spéculateurs et autres patrons voyous, où des grosses entreprises s'engraissent encore en permanence grâce aux idées des autres, et où des gens sont occupés à veiller farouchement à ce que moi, dont le chiffre d'affaire n'est pas même minuscule je n'utilise pas le mot "Champagne" si je ne suis pas en train de vendre du vin de Champagne mais en train de mentionner sur un site commercial un objet usuel (on peut toujours rêver) en rapport indissociable avec le Champagne, pour décrire un bijou qui ne peut en aucun cas se comprendre autrement qu'en rapport avec le Champagne et ne peut aucunement se faire passer pour du Champagne ni entrer en compétition avec ce nectar déposé.

Un sommet du bon goût à la française.

N.B. Bien sûr, j'ai obtempéré.

A la Fabrique!

2010-12-13T19:43:00.014+01:00

Depuis cet après-midi, quelques-unes de mes créations sont en vente à l'Atelier-Boutique La Fabrique, au 87bis, rue du Loup, dans le centre de Bordeaux (à deux pas de la cathédrale, place Pey-Berland).

Il s'agit d'une boutique de créations artisanales (bijoux, vêtements et décoration), tenue par Cristine Ram, dont la ligne de vêtements (somptueux manteaux de laine, ravissantes robes de soie, pantalons au très beau tombé etc.) s'appelle Charme. Tout un programme...

Cette très généreuse créatrice résume ainsi son concept de boutique : c'est elle qui paie le loyer, mais c'est la maison de tout le monde.

A chaque créateur, donc, de se créer une niche représentative de son univers. Euh ! Pour moi, c'est en cours...

A noter : aujourd'hui aussi s'installait, à l'étage, l'exposition de Madeleine Lemaire :
des impressions photographiques sur toile, à partir de photos souvent prises à Bordeaux et dans la région, mais aussi en Indonésie, à New York... De l'art décoratif à portée de toutes les bourses...

Le vernissage a lieu samedi et l'exposition devrait rester en place jusqu'au début du mois de janvier.

Just to say that, as of today, a few of my designs are now to be found in a Bordeaux boutique: La Fabrique, 87bis, rue du Loup, right by the cathedral, place Pey-Berland... Wish me luck!

Courses de Noël au petit point à Saint Christoly (Bordeaux)

2010-12-04T12:47:00.002+01:00

Allez-y !

Merry-Go-Round - Take Care!

2010-11-27T12:17:00.008+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

How to take care of your art— information for buyers.

Because of the variety of crafts I dabble in, there cannot be one answer to this, except to point out that anything extreme (temperature, activity, fingering... or even cleansing!) is going to be potentially damaging.

So, first things first.

When you buy jewellery from me, you're going to be aware of the materials used, because I always give as much information as I can in my listings.

If you buy pearls— since I tend to use silver or vermeil with them, but not glue— a little soft soap and warm water once in a while, followed by thorough rinsing and immediately by light-handed dry padding with cotton cloth, is going to revive your pearls for as long as you love them.

My more whimsical jewellery often involves the use of glue. This entails that though you should be able to rinse it (it will survive rain too!), soaking is an absolute No No. My motto for cocktail rings: "No shock, shower, no dish washing!"

Anything that involves several elements shall definitely come apart if you try it...

The good news is that most of my pieces can also be mended.

As for textiles, I like my own possessions to be washable, so most of what I make can be washed. But any handmade accessory, especially embroidered and embellished ones, will have to be hand-washed, just to be on the safe side. I use nearly no synthetics, so, yes, the fabric will age, as we do. Careful storing and moth-repellents work well...

Interview sur DaWanda

2010-11-18T20:14:00.006+01:00

Pour trouver les réponses aux questions que vous n'avez sûrement jamais osé vous poser sur Meherio68 et Le Bar du Vent : le blog de DaWanda.fr

For all those answers to questions you never dared to ask about Meherio68 & Le Bar du Vent, look up the blog on DaWanda.fr (so in French).

Projet Noël à Londres / Christmas in London— excuse #1

2010-11-12T14:40:00.004+01:00

J'ai toujours eu envie de passer Noël à Londres et maintenant, c'est le mois de décembre entier que je voudrais y passer, ne serait-ce que pour pouvoir assister à ce marché artisanal de Noël organisé par We Make London : Chelsea Town Hall, le 4 décembre.

Check out We Make London's Christmas fair: http://bit.ly/T9Ko. Some fantastic sellers Chelsea Town Hall 4^th December. One more reason why I wish I could spend the whole of December in London. Still considering spending a few days there over Christmas anyway...

CONCOURS / GIVEAWAY sur / ON Facebook

2010-11-07T13:20:00.008+01:00

Une autre bonne raison pour trouver et "aimer" Le Bar du Vent sur Facebook : laisser-vous aller à rêver votre cahier, carnet, journal (secret ou pas) à vous et racontez-moi ça sur Facebook, et vous pourriez bien le recevoir au printemps prochain...

Yet another reason to seek and "like" Le Bar du Vent on Facebook— dream up your very own journal or notebook, tell me about it on Facebook and you just might receive it next Spring...

Promotion sur / Sale on Redbubble

2010-11-04T06:53:00.003+01:00

sur / on Redbubble

Merry-Go-Round - Comfort Zone(s)

2010-10-29T22:55:00.006+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

Get out of your comfort zone and try something new.

"Comfort zone"? What's that?!!

I don't think I have that in stock.

First things first— I should apologize for taking my seat on the merry-go-round a bit late this month.

Excuses: yesterday evening, I had planned to finish knitting a cashmere jacket. I am not a terribly competent knitter*, but I have knitted, on and off, for over twenty years. For some reason, I knit a lot during heat waves. Don't ask... I don't know.

So anyway, being only moderately competent, I make mistakes. Bad ones. Yesterday, as I was finally trying to sew the pieces together, I realized I had made one of those bad mistakes. "Bad" means I have to unmake. I had to. Quite a bit. So I unravelled the whole collar and the top of both front pieces [yes— I had bound off on the wrong side].

And I re-made them. Well, I had to go to bed before I had quite knitted the collar again; So I had to do that today.

But this morning I had to do some paperwork and this afternoon I was going to the bookbinder.

To learn bookbinding.

I started taking lessons from a professional bookbinder a month ago. It's something I have long wanted to do and now that I don't take upholstery classes** anymore, I have decided I could make time for bookbinding.

Yes, I am supposed to make jewellery and I do have plans to explore silversmithing and artclay again, but I am an uncurable Jane of all trades. Mistress of none, but never bored...

I swing from one craft to another.

Mixing and matching materials and crafts.

Exploring life and the world as I go.

That sounds good, doesn't it? But really it's pathological— I cannot stand the idea of living just one life....

Plus, just you wait until you see the wonderful notebooks and accessories I am going to turn all this discomfort into! Not sure you're going to have to wait, but I know that in the meantime I won't be bored.

* Rather better than at crochetting, but I am working on that.

** Still have to finish covering a chair for my mother

Promotion— You scratch my back...

2010-10-09T12:54:00.006+02:00

~☀~~☀~

Trouvez et "Aimez" Le Bar du Vent sur Facebook et je vous offre les frais d'envoi sur votre commande suivante, partout dans le monde. Offre cumulable avec les soldes et autres promotions.

~☀~~☀~

Find and "Like" Le Bar du Vent on Facebook and you get free shipping on your next order— worldwide!— even during the sales.

~☀~~☀~

Boutiques : Etsy, DaWanda & A Little Market

Nouvelles Nouveautés Exclusives sur A Little Market !

2010-09-30T07:05:00.003+02:00

Parce que tant qu'à faire de la bijouterie fantaisie, autant être un peu fantaisiste, non ?

Nouveautés Exclusives sur A Little Market

2010-09-25T12:23:00.005+02:00

Pour célébrer l'ouverture de ma toute nouvelle boutique sur ALM : tout nouveau, tout frais.

En exclusivité sur A Little Market

Merry-Go-Round - Flying colours

2010-09-24T12:08:00.011+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

What is your favourite colour and how does it come into your work?

This is both easy and difficult to answer, I find.

My favourite colour is red. Mostly. And then there's black. Together and separately, they make up my comfort zone.

I look at red and black and I see beauty.

When I reupholster chairs I like, they turn bright red.

When I make a Jag ring for myself, it's deep red (maroon).

When I knit a cashmere jacket— for myself, you bet!— it's deep red again ("merlot", yummy!).

When I want to pick a shirt to wear, long- or-short-sleeved, black and red are the two colours most represented in my "wardrobe".

They are my feel-good colours on any day.

When it comes to creating jewellery, strangely enough, it doesn't really show. If you go through my shop on DaWanda or Etsy, it won't be obvious, I don't think. The necklace in the photo is a rare example. And I recently gave it to someone who had the good taste to like it...

But then I guess that comes from the fact that jewellery, like accessories are small "islands" of colour and texture that you add to your "mainland". They come to complement and compliment your main colours. Well, mine anyway.

So I realize, now you make me think of it, that I have been working with colours I wouldn't have "given the time of day" before. Also colours that I can appreciate and enjoy mixing and playing with, once it is not all about me and my complexion.

I recently made several all-black pieces, but that was because I really needed to take a day-trip to my comfort zone...

My other colour, the colour I just need around me, is green, and you'll definitely find much more of this one in my shop. And in my photos!

Blue is for my dreams...

I've also noticed that when I look at a red bead (plenty of these), a black gem, or a green leaf, or the very green eyes indeed of my cat, with their black eye-liner, I lose all critical sense: I see beauty and I'm dazzled. Probably why I use so little of my many red beads. Mmm. Shame that. I'll have to take another look... ;-)

SUPER SOLDES D'EQUINOXE - MABON SALE!!!

2010-09-21T15:24:00.010+02:00

Sur DaWanda, Le Bar du Vent est en soldes pour fêter l'Equinoxe et les Moissons, du 21 au 24 Septembre.
On DaWanda, Le Bar du vent celebrates Mabon, the second harvest, the equinoxe— with a great sale, from 21st to 24th September.
Enjoy!

Alice ?

2010-09-12T12:20:00.006+02:00

"High Tea". Bientôt à votre cou.

Soon to be listed— "High Tea"— more dazzling than High Noon, ain't it?

Under the influence.

2010-09-12T12:14:00.006+02:00

Pas pu m'empêcher...

Couldn't help myself. *.*

PREVIEW - BIENTOT EN BOUTIQUE...

2010-08-30T12:01:00.009+02:00

Brand new - Tout chaud :

Merry-Go-Round - Creative Challenge

2010-08-27T11:50:00.000+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

This month, we have all been working on projects inspired by one photo— showing a bouquet of colourful ballons.

I have long wanted to experiment with those lovely fabric flowers that I had seen on Etsy.

What with their being round and as colourful as you like and also potentially full of life and cheer, that's what came to mind the minute I saw those balloons...

So here goes.

I really like that those fabric flowers are organic-looking, and all unique, however adept you can probably get at making them.

As usual, I like the haphazard, chance aspect of this craft.

I also like that you can make them recycling all those industrial fibers that you find everywhere and that always seem to age à-so-not-gracefully— that way, you can turn som drab, mass-produced stuff into organic-looking, unique loveliness.

I still need to practice a lot more before I can create more loveliness than cuteness, but I already quite like the simplicity of these two in particular.

Now. What to do with them.

You see a lot of these on bobby pins and who am I to do any different?

So that's where my two maroon balloon-flowers will go.

But for the other five, I have a special master-plan.

He, he, he...

A few weeks ago, I was given this promotional Etsy bag— which was nice.

But have a look— don't you find it a bit sad.

Really not balloon-like cheerful, is it?

Badly in need of some embellishment, wouldn't you say?

Ta daa!

That was fun.

Lots more flowers to be strewn on the path of the unsuspecting virtual shopper. All in good time.

Merry-Go-Round - Is place of the essence?

2010-07-30T11:47:00.000+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

How much, if at all, does your geographical location affect your art/craft?

Well, truth is, I am away right now, in Morocco.

So that is definitely affecting my crafting, as I am away from it all. But I do plan to keep my eyes peeled and find new inspiration. I've also taken with me a large cross stich project, but I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to put into it... Able, willing, whatever. When the sand and the ocean beckon, strength of character is really not my forte.

Other than material contigencies and lack of space, I'm not sure that my current geography affects what I do, or how I do it. Wherever I am, I am always on the lookout but also thinking of, remembering, looking forward to— other locations.

I think it's much more about personal culture than geography, for me.

Though my location definitely affects how I feel, which in turn...

That'll be all from me, 'cause I'm off to the beach! Sorry about that. :-) Not!

I'm pretty sure you'll find much more interesting reading on my fellow merry-go-rounders...

Celebrate the Fleur de Lis and donate

2010-07-02T12:02:00.014+02:00

I'd like to show off a few photos of my first Fleur de Lis items, all created with Louisiana in mind, celebrated the old tie with this "cousin", and trying to help.

I've already made a donation because I wished to help in any small way to clean up and save as many as possible of the unsuspecting creatures that have been victims, as usual, of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but there is only so much I can do on my own...

Now, when I posted a question about this on the oh-so-friendly Etsy forum, I got a biting remark about the first victims which happened to be the human fatalities and casualties at the site. So I guess I had better point out right away that however saddening the loss of these lives, I still find the the loss of innocent animal lives (and the wrecking of quite a few human lives too) even more saddening and quite maddening. Not that I'm happy about the plants destroyed either...

I should also add that I'm fully aware that Louisiana is not the only state suffering from the consequences of the spill— I just had to pick.

Anyway. I have begun listing a few original Fleur de Lis items and whenever I sell one— nudge, nudge—, I will donate half the price to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation (here, scroll down to the very bottom). To help clean up the mess and save lives and keep people busy in a good way.

I began with the two "Carnet de Bal" notebooks, and then went on to create two different pairs of earrings. Everything handmade by me. Everything listed in my Etsy shop.

So— thanks in advance— nudge, nudge...

Merry-Go-Round - What's on your plate?

2010-06-25T17:47:00.005+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

What's on your plate - healthy quick recipes that give us plenty of time to create.

Healthy and lazy, huh?
That's me. :-)

Actually, there is something really simple and possibly healthy that I often put on my plate, together with some sliced tomatoes and / or green salad (whatever I have in my fridge), when I want something quick and tasty and balanced: cheese, with olive oil and pepper.
Any kind of cheese, really, though I favour goats cheese.
I love to eat cheese without bread, anyway, with a knife and fork. Or without them too (blushes). Love bread on its own, on the side. As a dessert, really.
A guess that's the Mediterranean in me...

Etsy Craft Party... à Bordeaux, le 18 juin

2010-06-11T17:51:00.006+02:00

Pour célébrer ses 5 ans, le site de création / design / bidouillage etc. artistique et tout et tout, Etsy, lance une vague de "Craft Parties" dans le monde entier, histoire de se retrouver entre créateurs de tous poils.

Comme l'indique le titre, à Bordeaux, ce serait le 18 juin, sans doute au Frog & Rosbif.

Qui veut en être ? C'est ici qu'il faut vous manifester.

Merry-Go-Round - Networking

2010-05-28T13:15:00.011+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

What do you do to network? In what ways does it work or not work?

These days, I have even less time for networking than for crafting.

Over the past few years, I have tried the usual (myspace, blogging, among others) and the less usual (this Merry-Go-Round, the Thursday Sweet Treat...). I don't believe the networking sites, such as myspace and facebook (which I keep personal) are any good for me.

The only forum I still visit on a daily basis is the DaWanda forum. If only because I find it much more congenial than the Etsy forum where you get a measure of support but also a lot of gratuitous aggression. I have no time for this... Still, the Etsy forum is where I found the Thusrday Sweet Treat, which was a really inspiring 'place', (when I still had time to be part of it...) and it is much faster than the DaWanda one, especially in English, which is a shame.

As I have never done this full time,
I really have no idea what concrete results it has brought about, or what it could have. What I do know, though, is that it has allowed me to learn a lot from fellow crafters. It has also inspired me in a way I couldn't have been if I had only been focusing on making and selling.

It has kept me curious and — relatively— ambitious.

In short, though it sometimes felt like the networking time was stolen from crafting, I suspect I wouldn't be crafting at all anymore, if it wasn't for the virtual ties that have kept me going.

Using my blog address as a signature at the bottom of all my mails has brought me at least two clients among aquaintances who didn't know of that part of my life. I also keep giving away my business cards, though I still don't know what effect it may have had. Who knows...

Merry-Go-Round - Merry-Swap-Around

2010-04-30T19:31:00.015+02:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

A Merry Gift from a fellow Merry-Go-Rounder: mine came all the way from the Netherlands, sent by Kim, of Vilt à la Kim!

I love this!

Look what I got: gorgeous packaging for starters.

Inside: a wonderful Magical (I say) Roving Eye Ring with a Seafaring Cuff Bracelet. All of Turquoise and Blue. I love the colours, and I love the detailing in that soft, wavy foam-like line! Just when I'm beginning to yearn for the sea and a great big gulp of sea air...

Also, I'm told this is all merino and silk—some of my favourite materials...

THANK YOU KIM!

My hand-made gift went to Alison, if you'd like to check it out...

On the Road Again... Part 2— the Return of the Revenge

2010-04-16T13:01:00.007+02:00

Moi, je suis une grande Enquiquineuse toute simple : une petite Jaguar, ou un bon vieux Black Cab, c'est tout ce que je demande. Et puis si je deviens vraiment riche ou entretenue, j'aurai aussi une hybride avec des freins.

Mais figurez-vous qu'il y en a qui exigent une 2CV ou une Coccinelle ! Quand je pense que certains me disent difficile...

Attendez-vous à croiser plus d'Etranges Enquiquineuses Trop Chères : les idées me viennent avec une facilité effrayante !

Merci à Mariana et Mitsi pour m'avoir inspiré ces deux... décapotables.

I am just your basic High-Maintenance gal— a mere Jaguar, or possibly a good old Black Cab is all I'm asking for (my other fantasy car is a hybrid that does brake).

Well, you ought to know that some women will only have a 2CV and others a Beetle.

And I'm supposed to be a snob!

More Strange, Difficult, High-Maintenance Women to come, I'm afraid— I keep getting new ideas!

Thanks to Mariana and Mitsi for inspiring me with these two convertibles ( _‹(•¿•)›_).

On the Road Again...

2010-04-15T11:21:00.007+02:00

L'aventure automobile du Bar du Vent se poursuit, dans la bonne humeur et le confort.
Que des anglaises.
D'abord, la Police de l'Elégance, ensuite, la seule version tolérable du camping...

More in the same mood with two English jobs— the Fashion Police and an elegant camping trip. Literally hours of work here... OOAK

Merry-Go-Round - Inspirational Photo Challenge

2010-03-24T17:32:00.013+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

Inspirational Photo Challenge: take a photo of something that inspires you and show what you make from this as your inspiration.

What's that? I hear you wonder...

Well, over the months, you will have seen many photos of nature and the countryside on this blog, so I thought that, this time, I should show something you don't know of. Something crucially inspirationnal to me indeed.

What this photo shows is a minature Jag (the famous E-Type). This one is actually a gift from my lovely mother who first told me about this amazing job.
I guess it is a car for girls then.
I wish!...

Anyway, it is my car, you know...

Not only has this glorious piece of British designing genius inspired me to finally pass my driving licence (not a small feat, I can assure you) which was my own Christmas Miracle of 2009, but it has inspired a new line in my jewellery.

Wait, not one but three!

You might remember that over the past few Merry-go-Rounds, I was doing a lot of mulling. Well this Belle Anglais sort of pulled me through.

Starting from this seemingly absurd choice of car (no I don't have one yet, well, apart from this miniature one, but one day— just you wait!) it brought me to accept the fact I am genrally a fairly high-maintenance creature. Or rather, I would be if I was not doing all the maintening myself...

The result of this simple reflexion is a carload of ideas to make up the High-Maintenance line.
The blue Jag Ring is the first piece in this line— had to be— but there will be plenty more...

Following this whim, I also came up with loads of ideas for Difficult Women (I love them!), beginning with this Thelma & Louise ring (OK, it's a black Mercedes, but whenever I see an angular convertible like this one, I think T & L...).

Finally, obviously there will be the (Self-)Love is Blind line, Beginning with this I am a Goddess ring. OK, this really works much better in French because this car is a Citrën DS (DS sound exactly like "déesse", the French word for goddess...), but who doesn't want to be a French goddess, right? (she flashes a shameless arrogant grin).

Lifestyle Crafts letterpress combo kit

2010-03-16T00:06:00.002+01:00

I would like to know whether someone here has ordered and actually received a Lifestyle Crafts letterpress combo kit from their site ( http://lifestylecrafts.com ) and actually received it.
I'd love to hear even if you simply know someone who has...

Merry-Go-Round - Looking Forward

2010-03-01T23:38:00.004+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

What are you planning for the year ahead?

So. First off— I am really, really sorry I am so late posting this.

Got carried away with how short February is and how much there was I wanted / had to cram into it...

The bad news: no photo.

The good news: I am actually looking forward to this year and gradually making out what it is I am going to make of it, craftwise.

Late December-Early January was a difficult time but it was also liberating and brought me peace and clarity of mind the like of which I had not experienced in a long, long time.

The past year was spent, not uselessly but sometimes seeminglingly pointlessly, dabbling around new stuff.

I do intend to go on experimenting (sounds better, does it not?) with textile and metal, and learning, but things are slowly beginning to fall into place and I am beginning to see more clearly how to combine, or not, this and that craft; how this is going to be just for my own pleasure, whereas that is going to be "marketable" in some way.

Recently, I have been going through my stacks in a violent session of pre-Spring cleaning. Order! Order! Yeah, right... Anyway. The mix of contemplation and exertion (panting and resting vs. putting shelves together and up against the wall) allowed me to think and fantasize freely.

A thematic project has been slowly growing and coming together.

So— watch this spot for some statement jewelery— that's all I'm going to say for now!

Merry-Go-Round - 3 Crafters I love

2010-01-29T17:56:00.019+01:00

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month's theme:

Three crafters whose work I really like.

Here are favourites of mine, doing very different things, in different fields. What they have in common is that I love every single piece they make... It was really hard to select only a few photos, I had to stop at three for each of these amazing designers.

First, a photographer whose dreamy world feels very congenial and soothing to me:

Labokoff, whose work can be found on DaWanda and on Etsy

Next, a dressmaker from whom I bought a dress. Yes, only one! You have no idea how hard it is to accept that I cannot one every month. My precious... It's amazing how simple and elegant and easy to wear her creations are:
Larimeloom, whose work can also be found on DaWanda and on Etsy

Last but not least, a jewellery maker whose bead woven pieces are so timelessly elegant, organic-looking and quite simply gorgeous:
Violetta Pretorius on DaWanda

Haiti

2010-01-15T15:33:00.004+01:00

HAITI a besoin de notre aide. Je me sens impuissante, mais voici ce que je peux faire :
jusqu'à nouvel ordre, 50 % du prix que vous payez pour n'importe quel article dans mes boutiques sur DaWanda et sur Etsy ira à la Fondation de France, une structure caritative fiable (www.fondationdefrance.org - Projet Haiti).

HAITI needs our help. I feel pretty powerless, but what I can do is this:
until further notice, 50 % of the price you pay on any item in my shops on DaWanda and Etsy will go to Fondation de France, a reliable charity (www.fondationdefrance.org - Projet Haiti).

Inspiration

2009-12-20T15:25:00.009+01:00

Hier, en quelques heures, j'ai pu mener à bien une très plaisante transaction avec une cliente qui voulait une de mes bagues fleur, mais avec son propre choix de couleur.

Il y avait longtemps que je n'avais pas pris autant de plaisir à travailler. Ça m'a rappelé à quel point j'adorais fourrager dans mes stocks et chercher l'association harmonieuse...

Yesterday, in just a few hours, I put together this ring for a very pleasant customer who wanted one of my flower rings, but with her own choice of colours.

It had been a long time since I last felt so much pleasure. It reminded me how much I like rummaging through my stuff and looking for just the right mix of pearls and findings.

Elle me plaît beaucoup !

I love it!

Final SALE update / BRADERIE : dernière promo

2009-11-16T06:54:00.008+01:00

Bonjour tout le monde ! Hello Everyone.

C'est bientôt la fin de notre Grande Braderie et pour finir en beauté, je propose une double promotion, valable jusqu'au 24 novembre à minuit.
Our Great Sale is going to be over soon, and for a grand finish, I'd like to offer two different discounts (combinable!), both valid until November 24th, midnight.

Les ~☀~ frais d'envoi ~☀~ sont offert sur toute commande, vers le monde entier ET je vous offre ~☀~ 20 % de réduction sur toute commande de 60 euros et plus ~☀~. ATTENTION de bien me contacter AVANT de passer votre commande pour que je puisse créer une fiche article spéciale pour vous indiquant le prix réduit.

C'est ici.

~☀~ Free shipping, worldwide, on all orders ~☀~ AND you get ~☀~ a 20 % dicount on all orders of 60 euros and more ~☀~. ONLY do not fail to contact me BEFORE checkout, so I can put up a special listing for you with the new discounted prices...

Here is my shop.

Plein d'autre réduction dans d'autres boutiques de créateurs ici.

Loads of other great offers and discounts in fabulous shops, here.

Nouvelle Offre / New Discount Offer

2009-11-12T23:09:00.007+01:00

Du 13 au 15 novembre inclus, de minuit à minuit : 20 % sur les articles de la catégorie Colliers dans ma boutique DaWanda .

Me contacter avant de passer la commande pour que je modifie le prix...

Dans le cadre de la Grande Braderie des Créateurs Uniques, sur le forum de DaWanda.

From November 13th to 15th inclusive, three days

from midnight to midnight: 20 % discount on all items in the Necklace category of my DaWanda shop.

You'll have to contact me before going through checkout so I can change the price for you.

As part of the OOAK Sellers' Great Sale on the French DaWanda Forum.

Le Bar du Vent

Merry-Go-Round - Customer Service

Breaking Dawn Giveaway at Bacon Time— don't miss out!

Nouvelles / News

Merry-Go-Round - Fairs and Shows

Merry-Go-Round - Tutorial

Meet Miss G.

L'Ecole du Chat de Bordeaux

Merry-Go-Round - Since you started blogging has your blogging changed?

1,2,3 : test

History on the go

New on French DaWanda: "les groupes"

Nouveau : les GROUPES sur DAWANDA

Belated Merry-Go-Round: On Holidays from your Art?

New - Nouveau ! Bis...

New - Nouveau !

Merry-Go-Round - Visual Inspiration 2 - Sand in my shoes...

I am the eye in the sky...

Merry-Go-Round - Visual Inspiration

***** RAIATEA RELIEF SPECIAL *****

***** RAIATEA RELIEF SPECIAL *****

Merry-Go-Round - Time— to manage or not to manage

Secret Paris

New / Nouveautés

FOW 10

Merry-Go-Round - Inspiring artist

Spécial Catastrophe au Japon / Japan Relief Special:

FOW 9

FOW 8

FOW 7

Facebook coupon

FOW 6

Merry-Go-Round - Top 3, Top 5, Top 10 favourite tools

New items in Etsy shop

FOW 5

Votez pour moi — Vote for me!

FOW 4

FOW 3

FOW Two

Merry-Go-Round - Compass Words for 2011

FOW One!

Ça bouge à la Fabrique !

Bonne Année / Happy New Year!

Merry-Go-Round - Collaborative swapping project

Merry Christmas!

^_^

Pas magique!

A la Fabrique!

Courses de Noël au petit point à Saint Christoly (Bordeaux)

Merry-Go-Round - Take Care!

Interview sur DaWanda

Projet Noël à Londres / Christmas in London— excuse #1

CONCOURS / GIVEAWAY sur / ON Facebook

Promotion sur / Sale on Redbubble

Merry-Go-Round - Comfort Zone(s)

Promotion— You scratch my back...

Nouvelles Nouveautés Exclusives sur A Little Market !

Nouveautés Exclusives sur A Little Market

Merry-Go-Round - Flying colours

SUPER SOLDES D'EQUINOXE - MABON SALE!!!

Alice ?

Under the influence.

PREVIEW - BIENTOT EN BOUTIQUE...

Merry-Go-Round - Creative Challenge

Merry-Go-Round - Is place of the essence?

Celebrate the Fleur de Lis and donate

Merry-Go-Round - What's on your plate?

Etsy Craft Party... à Bordeaux, le 18 juin

Merry-Go-Round - Networking

Merry-Go-Round - Merry-Swap-Around

On the Road Again... Part 2— the Return of the Revenge

On the Road Again...

Merry-Go-Round - Inspirational Photo Challenge

Lifestyle Crafts letterpress combo kit

Merry-Go-Round - Looking Forward

Merry-Go-Round - 3 Crafters I love

Haiti

Inspiration

Final SALE update / BRADERIE : dernière promo

Nouvelle Offre / New Discount Offer

* RAIATEA RELIEF SPECIAL *

* RAIATEA RELIEF SPECIAL *